The United States government is insolvent. This is no exaggeration—it is the direct conclusion drawn from the Treasury Department’s consolidated financial statements for the 2025 fiscal year, which were released with almost zero media coverage. The figures are staggering: total assets of $6.06 trillion against total liabilities of $47.78 trillion as of September 30, 2025.
Critically, the reported $47.78 trillion in liabilities does not include unfunded commitments for social safety nets like Social Security and Medicare—these are disclosed separately in the off-balance-sheet Statement of Social Insurance (SOSI). The government’s net financial position, excluding the SOSI, deteriorated by approximately $2.07 trillion between fiscal years 2024 and 2025, reaching a deafening negative $41.72 trillion. Total liabilities are now nearly eight times higher than the value of reported assets. The primary drivers were a $2 trillion increase in federal debt and interest (now at $30.33 trillion) and a $438.8 billion rise in federal benefits for employees and veterans (now totaling $15.47 trillion).
The off-balance-sheet iceberg
The off-balance-sheet picture is even more alarming. The 75-year unfunded liability for social insurance increased by $10.1 trillion in a single year, jumping from $78.3 trillion in FY 2024 to $88.4 trillion in FY 2025. The main reason was a $6.9 trillion surge in projected deficits for Medicare Part B and a $2.5 trillion increase for Social Security. The Treasury's Statement of Long-Term Fiscal Projections shows that the 75-year fiscal gap is growing from 4.3% of GDP in FY 2024 to 4.7% in FY 2025.
If the $88.4 trillion in off-balance-sheet obligations are added to the official $47.8 trillion in liabilities, total federal obligations now exceed $136.2 trillion—roughly five times the annual US GDP. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a disclaimer of opinion on the FY 2025 financial statements—marking the 29th consecutive year it has been unable to determine if the statements fairly present the financial position. This is primarily due to serious, long-standing financial management problems at the Department of Defense and weaknesses in accounting for intragovernmental transactions.
What $136 trillion means for the average citizen
Financial journalism has largely ignored these reports, and most members of Congress and the public will never read them. To make these astronomical numbers understandable, one simply needs to divide them by 100 million—removing eight zeros—to see federal finances as a family budget in freefall. If this "family" earns $52,446 but spends $73,378, it runs a deficit of $20,932 annually.
Total liabilities and unfunded promises reach $1,361,788 against just $60,554 in assets—leaving a debt of $1.3 million. Uncle Sam, by any objective accounting standard, is insolvent. Congress has clearly lost control of the nation's finances. The US is facing a fiscal disaster; the moment of accountability, long delayed, is becoming impossible to ignore.
Two bills that can change everything
Addressing the crisis—and preventing its recurrence—requires two specific legislative moves:
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H.R. 3289 — Fiscal Commission Act, sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), and 41 co-sponsors. This commission would force public accountability regarding facts, trade-offs, and the difficult choices required to restore fiscal health.
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Article V Convention Call to propose a constitutional responsibility amendment. H.Con.Res. 15, sponsored by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), aims for a constitutional adjustment to mandate a balanced budget and limit federal spending growth to a rate lower than economic expansion.
These two bills represent the most realistic path toward a resolution—if Congress has the political will to act.
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